International Travel News

Travelers' Intercom

July 2013 issue | Appears on page 0

Burgos’ cathedral

By Mary Taylor

During an October ’12 trip to Europe, my husband and I spent the night in Burgos, Spain, where we toured Burgos’ cathedral. Of all of the churches we visited on our tour, this one most impressed me. Each generation of Spanish nobles spent money on this cathedral, and the chapels, done in various styles, all were magnificent. — MARY TAYLOR, Rockport, TX

June 2013 issue | Appears on page 14

Purchasing Paris public transit tickets

By Richard Milberg

In Paris, the RATP (bus/Métro/tram) and RER (commuter rail) continue to make improvements in the ease of purchasing tickets and passes and in recharging passes, as my wife, Roberta, and I found during a visit, Feb. 25-March 4, 2013.

Besides the manned windows, there are multiple automated sales terminals in many larger Métro stations. All the terminals are marked with pictographs and writing as to what they do and sell and what they accept for payment (some now take euro bills). You...

June 2013 issue | Appears on page 14

Driver, port to Beijing airport

By Betty Tronson

Getting from the port at Tianjin, China, where the cruise ships dock, to the airport in Beijing several hours away can be quite a challenge. The port, itself, is 45 minutes from Tianjin.

Cruise lines offer transfers, but they can be expensive. Cab drivers are sparse at the port, and many do not speak English.

For our transfer on March 16, 2013, from the Seven Seas Voyager to the Beijing airport, my husband, Keith, and I emailed for advice from Liu Xue Jin of the Capital...

June 2013 issue | Appears on page 15

Seeing more in Turkey

By Andrew Eber

My wife, Carol, and I took the 15-day “Legendary Turkey” tour with Odysseys Unlimited (Newton, MA; 888/370-6765), May 29-June 13, 2012. The cost, including round-trip air from San Francisco, was $4,592 per person.

I found Turkey cleaner (and a good deal more stable) than Greece. And since it’s not in the European Union (yet) and has its own currency, it’s cheaper than many vacation destinations in Europe.

Here are some of the preconceptions people seem to have about Turkey....

June 2013 issue | Appears on page 16

Kyrgyzstan visas

By Cynthia Rignanese

Travel in countries ending with the letters “stan” has always been challenging, particularly navigating the visa requirements. Kudos to Kyrgyzstan, which in 2012, I just learned, became the first “Stan” country to waive visa requirements for citizens of core nations, including the US.

For details on travel requirements for Kyrgyzstan, visit this page on the State Department website.

CYNTHIA RIGNANESE

Winter Haven, FL

The seven “Stan” nations are Afghanistan,...

June 2013 issue | Appears on page 17

Winter Olympics tickets

By Gene McPherson

The item titled “2014 Sochi Olympics” (April ’13, pg. 69) stated that individual tickets for the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, were sold out but might be available later. On April 5, I bought confirmed tickets for seven days during the Games. Apparently, more are available.

I attended the Calgary Winter Olympics in 1988 and had a wonderful time but haven’t been able to attend another Olympics until now.

I hope to fly to Amsterdam and then to Sochi via Vienna so I won’t...

June 2013 issue | Appears on page 24

Did not find expected amenities on Easter Island

By Charles M. Hayes

I was planning a trip to Easter Island (Rapa Nui) on my own and did some research on various websites. I finally decided to use the reviews on Hotels.com to choose a place to stay and settled on the Inaki Uhi (Atamu Tekena St., Hanga Roa, Rapa Nui; phone +56 32 2551160 or 2100231). I stayed there July 18-25, 2012, having booked my reservation about two months earlier.

The hotel’s reviews all were good, and the description of the property on Hotels.com showed several amenities...

June 2013 issue | Appears on page 26

On canceled tours

By Gary Mockli

I was fascinated by the subscriber’s letter titled “South America for the Birds” (Jan. ’13, pg. 22), in which he recounted his tour “Guyana, Suriname & Trinidad” with Adventures Abroad.

Particularly of note was his statement that his trip in March 2012 was the first the company had run there in four years. I found this interesting, as I had signed up for the tour for February 2013. I had also signed up for three prior tours with Adventures Abroad over the years (Malta, Indian...